My 2010 To-Do List !

Ok, so here is my 2010 To-Do list, finally ! I have decided to break things down into categories this year. Each year, depending on what is on the list, it tends to be arranged in different ways. So without further delay here it is:

Me:

• I was not able to actually go back to school last year due to time and money. I am making it my number one priority this year. I am not trying to take on the world, I just want to at least do one class a semester to get going again.
• I would like to get out and meet more of my neighbors. We have lived in this community for a year and a half now and I am ashamed to say that we barely know our neighbors.
• I will continue to work on my life book. I don't want to call it an autobiography because that sounds so proffessional and I am far from a writer. I do want to have my life in thoughts on paper though for my kids and grandkids someday.
• I am currently working on not yelling so much. I have to admit that I unfortunately got that from my mother and tend to yell before I even talk. I am really trying.
• Since we are talking about my mother, I want to actually work on my relationship with her. There has been a lot that has happened these past couple of years and we could use some reflection on what we have. I know that I complain a whole lot about my mother but I truly do love her.
• I would like to actually see the raises that I have not been getting in my job. I work my butt of and def deserve to recognized. But if for whatever reason, that does not happen soon, I might just be forced to look somewhere else. I want to be at a job that recognizes that work that I do.
• I am also ashamed to admit that I never started the search to get back in touch with my brother Tiago. This will be another priority that I have this year.
• Volunteer work is another avenue that I want to pursue this year. I honestly don't know where I will have the time but it is something that I seriously want to do so I will have to make the time.
• And lastly for my personal goals, I want to start putting my crafts out there to see if I can actually do something that I love as at least a side business. There is no time like the present.

Me & Jose:

• We will continue to have our monthly date nights. It has actually allowed us to get even closer, if you can believe that...lol.
• We need to work better on budgeting to allow for saving and even a little more playing. We are at a point now that we should be able to put a little aside. Every little bit counts.
• We have been successfully organizing our meet-up group. Ok, so I am the one doing most of it but he is so great about standing behind me and helping me with everything. He is just as involved in it as I am, we even added a Guys Night Out that he does. I want to continue to do this throughout this year.

The Kids:

• Obviously I would like to spend more time with the kids but there are only so many hours in a day. I want to try to spend more QUALITY time with the kids. I have realized that although we might all be in the house, we are not really spending time together. I want to work on that for them and for me.
• Night routines: God only knows that the weeknights are a nightmare. I get home from a long day at work and it is dinner, homework, baths, clean up, studying, and trying to find out how everyone's day went and what they need for the next day. I seem to be a little less organized at this point in my day. What? I can be disorganized sometimes you know. But I do want to work on this and make my night more productive than they currently are.
• PTO...I was PTO president at Larissa's school in RI and very involved in Nathan's school PTO but for some reason, I have really slacked here. I want to try to get more involved. I don't really have the time for President or anything too time consuming like that but I do want to at least join and know what is going on.

The home:

• Working on our bedroom is a must. Your bedroom should be a sanctuary but it just seems like a room with everything thrown in. I want to try to get it to the adult bedroom that both Jose and I really want.
• If we renew our lease in May (the only way we won't renew is if they raise the rent), I want to paint the kitchen. I have been saying that since we moved in and it has yet to be done.
• Cleaning the garage and organizing it will be my spring project for this year. Tons of unused space just going to waste.

Family:

• Game Night is back on and hopefully will be all year long !
• I have already started this but I need to cook healthier not only for Jose and I, but also for the kids. More veggies, less junk and leaner meats. We can do it together.
• I want to get more exercise as a family. Spend more time outdoors. That was a goal last year and I think that we failed pretty badly at that. We all know how I get in the heat. I think that I went in hybernation when the really hot weather came.

I just want to add that last year was not an all together failure. I did accomplish a lot. I did take a little more care of myself and I will continue to do that this year. I did get my nails done and still do them now. I did start up my 401k and just recently joined Aflac too. Baby steps is what it is all about. I know that things don't change overnight. You have to work at things and expect ups and downs. Moving to NC has been one of the best things that we could have done for our family. With that being said, we miss everyone we left behind in RI.

Well, that's it! That's my to-do list for 2010. Nothing that I can't really handle. I don't believe in making resolutions that you can't keep. I want to lose weight and hope that by completing some of the goals above that I will lose weight doing it but I want to feel better more than anything else. These are all attainable goals and I know that I can do it...with help from the famil of course. :o)

First Post of 2010 !

Happy New Year Everyone. I hope that everyone had a great New Year, I know that we did. I am still working on my to-do list for 2010. It has taken me longer that I thought it would because I am just looking at things differently this year. I will try to get it done this week for sure though. I also want to go over my 2009 list to see how I did. I know that I didn't get to some but it's all good. I will just add them on to this years list if it is still a priority.

Sorry that this is so short but I have a few things to get done. Talk to you all soon !

Good-bye 2009

Happy New Years Eve to everyone. I hope that everyone has a happy and safe New Years. You are all in my thoughts. Talk to you all in 2010.

Taking out the OLD, Bringing in the NEW

I can't believe that New Years Eve is tomorrow. I am still working on my 2010 to-do list but until then I wanted to post something else. I have received this from numerous friends and thought that it was appropriate enough and very well put so I wanted to share with everyone.

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.. 4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive
present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin
your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum
that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Back to Work

Christmas has passed but the spirit is still here.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas with your family. I had a very nice quiet and relaxing Christmas and weekend. It was just what we needed. The kids had a great time and so did we. Everything just went smoothly. This whole season has been wonderful. We have been so blessed to have so many people to spend time with this holiday season but most importantly I have been blessed to have Jose and the kids. Each year is just another little reminder of how lucky I truly am.

Now we look to the New Year. First and foremost, I want this coming year to be better than the last. Isn't that what we always strive for. I am going to be working on my famous to-do list for 2010 this week. I am hoping to get it posted on here for New Years of shortly after. I will also be going over last years list and see how I did. Maybe I will have to bump some onto this years again...lol. Talk to you all soon !

I also want to include more pics in the blog this year so I am posting this pic because I think that it is just beautiful and reminds us of the innocentness of childhood.

Our Perfect Place

Well this will be our second Christmas here in NC. It will be our second Christmas of new traditions and new beginnings. We will be spending it at home in our jammies watching the kids open presents. I will take tons of pics and share them with you all as usual. We want you all to see the kids growing before your very eyes. This year CJ understands a little bit more about Christmas and what it means. Nathan and Larissa haven't asked for much at all for Christmas. I could take that as they already have so much or I could take it as they are truly amazing kids who are thankful for what they have. I choose to believe that they are amazing kids. After all, they are my kids. :o)

I can't believe that we have been here this long already. Living here feels so natural like this is where we were meant to be. It's amazing that we spent so much time in one place not knowing what else is out there. We hope that at some point, every one of our family and friends in RI can take a trip here to see why we love it so much. We are lucky enough to have enough room for plenty of visitors so don't hesitate.

I don't know if we will spend the rest of our lives here in NC but I do know that we will not spend it in RI. We are truly blessed with all the family and friends that we had to leave behind in RI. We can always look back and know that we have nothing but great memories. We even anticipate visiting often and seeing everyone again but now having seen what else there is out there, it has just opened our eyes to so much more. RI is where Jose and I spent most of our lives. It is where our children were born. It will always be a piece of our lives and our hearts. But we have to look forward to our future and we have so much more here. Concord, NC is not perfect for everyone but it is perfect for us at this moment in our lives. I hope that everyone out there can find their perfect place for them, no matter where that place might be. There is such a satisifaction in knowing that you are where you want to be and where you should be.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and although I am working, I do not know if I will have time to post. So I want to wish everyone out there a very Merry Christmas !

Christmas is coming !

I can't believe that Christmas is Friday. Where does the time go? Don't get me wrong, I am more than ready for Christmas but it seems like this year has just flown by.

Let's see...the Christmas tree is up, the decorations are outside, the gifts are all bought, 1/3 of the gifts are wrapped (2/3 will be wrapped after tonight) and I have to go grocery shopping tonight for Christmas Dinner.

I can't wait for Christmas. I can't wait to see the kids faces on Christmas morning. I can't wait to spend the day helping them pull everything out of the boxes and bags and going through it all. The joy of being so innocent. The simplest things make the kids happy. We get so worked up in the buying and sending of gifts that we forget to slow down and enjoy it all. This Christmas season has been wonderful for me. I have so much to be thankful for and so many people to be thankful for. There are so many people out there that have so much less than we do. Those without jobs or worst yet, without homes. Those that have lost loved ones and those that won't get to spend Christmas with their loved ones. I just want everyone to take some time on Christmas and take a look around at what you have. You might not have gotten what you wanted for Christmas or you might not have been able to give your kids and family members what you would have liked but don't you have what really matters?

I hope that everyone had a very merry christmas and a happy new year from my family to yours.